Pilgrim

One who travels to a shrine or holy place

As Man Thinketh in His Heart…

So is he.

Under the Bodhi Tree

A descent into silence and meditation. A search for the soul.

The Door

And here you are, at the center of eternity, the end point of all. You are out of the physical realm here, all is pure thought.

Life on Earth

In a perfectly manicured estate beside the Thames in Central London, he came to the conclusion that life, as such, did not matter so very much.

The Chapter House

Some weeks after their adventures with the Book of Ways, Polly and Eustace sat enjoying a breakfast of boiled eggs and generously buttered toast in their little sitting room…

Beyond

The urge to write seems to be a purge, to be taken from time to time to express what it is one believes one has learnt.

Thin Places

“There are more things in heaven and earth than most people would dream of” chuckled Septimus. “If my dealings with Mages and their ways are anything to go by, you have both been called and must not be found wanting. Some great adventure awaits you.”

Time Stands Still

An air of deep unusualness greeted him, as he opened his door on a blustery autumn morning and set out to walk through the woods.

Taliban

Has it ever known peace, this sad and beautiful land.

As for Man, his Days are as Grass

As a flower of the field, so he flourisheth. For the wind passeth over it, and it is gone; and the place thereof shall know it no more.

Winter

Rumination, or call it reflection perhaps. Free of the destructive connotations of the former, the latter seems more wholesome. A liberating appraisal of a life lived less well than it could have been.

Which Way

Will you listen, perchance, to a holy man or prophet. Does philosopher or mage have the answers you seek, a fool even.

Doubt and Daemons

While some may appear to lead a life unperturbed by fear and doubt, many are driven by forces less benign.

Equanimity

Equanimity, the acceptance of unity and seeing through duality.

The High Cost of Woo

I find myself wondering how much the historical Jesus billed Lazarus for his resurrection.

Seeking Meaning

Deep in meditative trance a voice, my own perhaps, told me that I sought a god and had always done so.

And Did Those Feet

I felt it as soon as I sat down, the presence. Or was it a smell, a feeling a sound of silence.

Unspoken, Unwritten, Unthought

The happiest mind is the empty mind. The mind of pure experience. Empty of though but full of what is.

Mystical Unity

Hard as they are to describe, if I had to use one word to paint a picture of a mystical … More

Mystical Experience of Reality

There are certain activities or states of mind which trigger in me what Abraham Maslow calls “peak experiences”. Reading Keith Hancock’s Mystical Experience of Reality does just that.

To Seek Silence

Silence is not the absence of sound but the absence of noise. Noise is not simply the presence of undesired sound.

I’m off to Narnia

When it comes to parallel universes, it does not get much better than Narnia. Where better to escape the troubles of a world which at times feel overwhelming.

Glimpses of “Truth”

Enjoying the cool spring sunshine this morning, I had a moment of truth as my eye was caught by dew drops in the long grass. I was sitting in our beautiful patch of wild meadow at the bottom of the garden.

Letting go

I hadn’t quite realized until very recently just how damaging the human ego is.

Unworked Wood

Let the world go by and you may find yourself at peace.

The Railway Children

There can be few greater attractions than sitting on a country railway station.

Another Day, Another Guru

I was listening to some cross legged Russian windbag this morning pontificating on why micro-dosing psychedelics was bad news. It … More

This too shall pass

The world is full of annoyance and “noise” in the statistical sense.  Meaningless “stuff”, which in the bigger picture it is best to ignore. To shrug,walk away from.

Peace at Last

Very occasionally one gets a glimpse of peace and today was one of those all too rare days.

There Comes a Time

I was contemplating meditation at  the Wat Buddhapadipa in London and revisiting the basics of Buddhism this morning,

Alone in a Pew

If you are going to go to church, go alone and go when it is empty.

Are you what you read?

The modern trope would have it that you are what you eat, but the metaphor needs taking further.

Joy to the World

I will never be able to resolve my unshakable disbelief in Christian dogma with the profound peace I find singing sacred classical music in an ancient English church with a good choir.

A Finger Pointing to the Moon

Master Po say “Grasshopper never mind finger, go for moon”.

God’s Bleak House

Said to be the second oldest parish church in the country, churches don’t come much bleaker than All Saints, West Stourmouth, Kent.  

Right Thinking

I had a delightful morning over a cup of coffee with some acquaintances I had been meaning to get to know better. 

Consider the Lilies of the Field…

…how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin…

On Age

Cleopatra was fortunate indeed, the rest of us may age less well.  But we should embrace age, not resent or fear it.

Thought as the enemy of Moksha

Analysis and thought are the very antithesis of the sort of behavior likely to lead to lasting peace.

The Mysticism of Blade Runner

Does it sound curious to link a vastly popular work of science fiction to the concept of mysticism? 

The Doors of Perception

If the doors of perception were cleansed every thing would appear to man as it is, Infinite.

Will the meek inherit the earth?

For some years I have assumed that far from inheriting the earth, the meek will be trampled underfoot.  I am beginning to wonder whether I am mistaken.

Solace for Deep Weariness

I’m sure there is peace to be had and I have often found snatches of it. The big trick is to make it last.

Was Albert Einstein into Alchemical Healing?

I was reading a post this morning on “alchemical healing” and was a little puzzled by it.

How to be a 21st Century Hermit

I wonder whether it is possible to be a hermit these days? And if so, where.

Tilting at Windmills

I wonder whether I am guilty of “tilting at windmills”.

How should you deal with a pig?

I have come to question my behaviour when dealing with a pig over the past couple of years.  Well, pigs actually.

A Moral Dilemma

My own petty, unimportant and irrelevant moral dilemma should teach me something about the world and how to improve it.

Must Try Harder

Must try harder! Unfortunately as an imperfect individual I find it necessary to question my own behaviour on a daily basis. 

To Regret or to Reset

Regret, while you still have breath, is a wasteful extravagance, a futile and destructive luxury. 

A Meditation on Death

To have lived a good life is all that matters in the end.

Why Write a Blog

I write to educate myself.

Seeking Consciousness

Consciousness can only be sought through science and empirical, rational thought. 

Peace which the World Cannot Give?

Can we find peace in this world despite what the Book of Common Prayer says? 

Don’t Go Down the Rabbit Hole

Suddenly a White Rabbit with pink eyes runs close by. Don’t follow it!

Meditation is not Just for Christmas

Meditation is not or need not be any sort of religious devotion. But it must become a way of life if it is to be any help to you.

In Search of the Soul

There comes a stage where some hand over responsibility to the next generation and gradually withdraw from the world.